Value To Be Found In Premier League Specials Market

There’s lots to be excited about ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League season.

As a start point, almost every team will be set up to play on the front foot. With one or two possible exceptions, most managers will send their teams out to attack from the first minute.

Even if we consider that the high pressing game has become ‘fashionable,’ for want of a better term, fans are paying to be entertained.

After 18 months or so without that release, supporters up and down the country simply aren’t going to accept their teams trying to park the bus.

Consistency will be the key for the majority of teams in the English top-flight.

Aston Villa are a club who have been doing things the right way for a while now and are set to reap the rewards.

Their glory days are disappearing into the distance, however, the club are putting together a very good squad indeed.

The return of Ashley Young, for example, isn’t just a token gesture from Dean Smith.

Feels Good To Be Back. Nice 45 minutes. Thanks to you fans for the reception I received, cant wait until it’s at Villa Park 💜💙🤘🏾 pic.twitter.com/h27Y5DeUCB

— Ashley Young (@youngy18) July 22, 2021

It may be 35-year-old Young’s swansong, but as he showed when winning the Serie A title with Inter Milan last season, he won’t be just making up the numbers.

To a relatively young squad too, his experience will prove invaluable.

In Ollie Watkins, Villa have a marksman that will just keep getting better and better, whilst John McGinn and Jack Grealish are a midfield pairing of international class.

It was thought that Man City might like to add Grealish to their roster, and the captain and England man would be right at home there. However, the pull of the club he’s supported all his life is acknowledged.

Why would he move on when the likes of Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia and Emi Martinez are all starting to make a name for themselves.

At 6/1 to end in the European places, those odds won’t be around for long.

With the Top Scorer market, there are a couple of gems still available too.

Son Heung-min, for example, is at an outrageous 40/1.

Consider that he was joint fourth last season behind team-mate, Kane, and could conceivably have been level if he’d gobbled up a few more chances…

Timo Werner at 14/1, Sadio Mane at 20/1 and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 25/1 are all worth a look too.

They’ve previously shown the appetite to be in the right places at the right time, even if they’ve left their shooting boots in the dressing room.

If their respective teams go on a little winning run and they contribute a goal or two, confidence will be sky high – and that’s when strikers are at their most lethal.

As far as the PFA Player of the Year award goes, the usual suspects head the early betting.

Kevin De Bruyne is at 6/1, but no player has ever won it three seasons in a row. It isn’t beyond him, given he is the hub of everything good that Man City do, however, it would be a surprise.

Only Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne have won the PFA Men's Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons 🏆🏆

Happy birthday, KDB! 🎂 pic.twitter.com/E25YYpdYpo

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 28, 2021

Harry Kane, particularly if he signs for City, is a decent shout at 8/1, whilst Man United’s Bruno Fernandes, considering his influence on his team since his arrival, is even better value at 12/1.

Of the other runners and riders, Declan Rice at a frankly ridiculous 100/1 is surely worth a look, as is his best mate, Mason Mount, at a shorter priced 20/1.

If both end up working in tandem at Chelsea, expect to see those prices slashed.

The PFA’s Young Player of the Year award is even tighter in terms of the odds available.

The clamour for Billy Gilmour to be given more minutes at Chelsea ended with a loan deal to Norwich, and if he’s able to command their midfield in the way he did when given the chance with the Blues, then a 10/1 shot is very good value indeed.

Emile Smith Rowe’s odds are slightly longer at 12/1, but the responsibility of Arsenal’s No.10 shirt could well see him come into his own throughout 2021/22.

It’s difficult to see past the top seven in the betting, with Phil Foden (4/1) and Bukayo Saka (6/1) looking to enhance their claims for more regular starts.

Reece James, Mason Greenwood and Ferran Torres (all 8/1) have the potential to challenge for the award, but arguably need to have a little more consistency to their game to be in amongst it at the business end of the campaign.